Lucifer POV

The forest swallowed me whole the moment I stepped beyond its first line of trees. The air changed instantly, becoming heavier, as though the world outside no longer existed.

Behind me, far beyond the twisting branches and suffocating shadows, the crowd waited. Ragnarok, Erick, the officials… they all watched the entrance, waiting to see if I would return. Waiting to see if I’d live.

Tradition, they called it.

I called it a death sentence.

My blood dripped steadily from my ...